Ladies Craft Night

Tonight was my monthly "Ladies Craft Night" with the girls from work. We had a wonderful dinner at Genvieve's, and then it was on to crafts! We had two co-workers tonight who joined us, neither of whom do crafts, but after watching me teach Vanessa how to start a chain and build the stitchs for a simple dish cloth, they both were clamoring for me to teach them! Luckily I had a few extra hooks and skeins of yarn with me, so I showed them how to do the basics too! Their comments "This is sooooo cool" "Look at mine! I'm awesome" "This is addicting - its so much fun"! I was so happy that they took an interest in crocheting! Hopefully if I keep bringing in my projects to work, they will keep the interest up!

Really did not get anything of my own accomplished, but it was so much fun to watch and listen to them as they practiced and got better as the night progressed!

Its not my night to crochet....

I think that the fates are rallying against me tonight for crocheting! I have been crocheting in my bedroom lately sitting on my bed. I was working on my Star Afghan tonight when "pop" - one of the halogen lights on my ceiling that shines on the bed goes out....okay, I can not reach it, I'll call maintenance in the morning. Head into the corner to sit in my wicker chair and keep working - look up, and that light is out! Head in to the bathroom (not to crochet) and one of the lights in there is out! Argh!! The kicker is that when I went into the living room, the light that shines onto the couch has burned out within the past week too!!! That is four light bulbs gone within a week, three today - someone sure is laughing at me somewhere!

Finished the doily last night - thanks to help from Vera! I still need to figure out how to make it lay flat, but in the meantime here is what it looks like with the curling edges :-)

My Little Man

I don't think that I have talked about my Nephew on this blog yet! Andrew is four years old and my very own "Little Man". Even with the amount of time that I've been gone from the US - 3 of his 4 years, we are very close! We talk on the phone at least twice a week, and my desk is covered with photos of him (with a nod to his sister Megan and my other Sister's two step-daughters). Every time that I am back in the US we go to Chuckie Cheese together - I am the only one who takes him there (unless a special occasion comes up like a birthday party) so its always a big event for him! Courtesy of the telephone, I've been there for many of his "firsts" including running through the sprinklers with him...."Are you getting wet Aunt Kim???" LOL

Last night before going to bed, he told his mom that he really really missed me and wanted me to come home. And that we did not have to go to Chuckie's, but we could stay at home and eat Mac & Cheese and watch Sponge Bob and other movies. (I would like Sponge Bob because his sister likes Sponge Bob and shes a girl) The kicker was that I could sleep with him in his bed because he did not need all of it, and would share with me so I could have somewhere to sleep. His mom e-mailed me all of this which I read this morning....awwwwww!

So I of course called him on the phone, and the first thing he said was "I really, really miss you Aunt Kim, are you coming home soon?" He then repeated everything above in some form, which of couse had tears going down my face - how can you tell a little boy that you can't come home - it breaks his heart every time, and breaks mine for having to tell him I can't!

Here is a picture of the two of taken while I was in the US over Christmas:

Project Updates

Okay, its not Wednesday, but I do not know if I will have time to write anything tomorrow, so a day early is better than nothing! I have been busy working on all of my projects, so I will update them one at a time!

Star Afghan - Progress has stalled a little bit - I need to make another corner square and my hands, heart and mind are rebelling at having to do another one (little do they realize, but I actually need a total of 3 more to finish the blanket) I did get the edging to the second corner section done up to point where it is necessary to add in the square - hopefully tonight!

Thread Doily - It is being done in a varigated pink, and I've gotten to the last round where the directions are not making sense - posted a plea for help at Crochetville. Hopefully I can get this finished before Friday;

UFO Sightings - The red and black wool scarf that I started in December and never touched again has been frogged and is rolled into a ball waiting to be re-made into a new and better scarf!

That is it for today - several new projects upcoming, along with the fun of having a Secret Pal! I signed up for Crochetville's Summer Secret Pals - now how to figure out to mail my package without them finding out its coming from me (the Belgium postal stamp would surely give it away!!)

Everyone in my section of the office (my old group) is in Zurich for a meeting so its just me sitting here by myself today - its actually nice since I can get some things finished without interruptions! Okay, I'm not exactly doing a lot of work right now since I am typing this up, but will work hard to get things finished this afternoon...oh! Signed up for violin lessons - random I know, but what the heck! I have the extra money right now, so why not try something that I've been wanting to do for years! :-)

Where did the weekend go?

This had to be the fastest weekend ever recorded! I am not sure where the time went, but here it is Sunday night and I've yet to finish anything that I wanted to this weekend! I even neglected my laundry today in hopes of finishing at least a section of my Afghan!

I got way to excited trying to figure out what to do with some new yarn I bought on Saturday - it is Lang Yarns Opal Color in a variegated purple / blue - it is very pretty - I am sitting here with one of them next to me in hopes that inspiration will come on what to make with it...ok, so I can pet it also!

I absolutely dislike the fun fur! I bought some really funky color - Brazilia Color in lime, bright orange, light pink and purple in hopes of making on of those cool scarves, but after 4 rows I gave in, cut it off and sewed it together for a hair doo-dad - perhaps I will try it again once I start knitting, but until then its going into one of the tubs I bought for yarn storage!

Work is going to be bad this week - I am struggling with the change between jobs still (only 2 months later) and really not being able to keep up with both - its like I am being pulled in two directions at once like Stretch Armstrong - hope I don't break and everyone gets to see what's really inside me! I could normally handle the combination, but at the back of my mind I don't really think that it is my job to be doing it! The stress and combination of it all has been getting to me - I can tell that my concentration levels are way down at work - I just don't want to be there, even being excited about my new job and the projects I am working on there does not get me interested since I'm so bummed, pissed, frustrated, irate, postal, depressed that I am still doing the old job....They were so crappy about getting rid of me, that I don't feel the loyalty like I would normally do - if it was not for the people depending on the info, I would walk away, but many depending on the info are my friends and I can not let them down, but at the same time I am being let down by my former head honcho boss who does not see the importance of having my replacement take over my work.....ARGH!!!!

Okay, enough of that! On the list for this week is to finish 2 more corners of my Afghan, finish my doily and decide what to do with my frogged scarf UFO! I signed up for the Summer Secret Pal at Crochetville - I am so very excited to be doing this! It should be great fun! I am already plotting strategies for sending my little packages out to them.....oooh - I get to go shopping! Bonus happy!

Shopping!! I went to the new Ikea yesterday - its reachable by the Metro line, so I can go!! Yay!! I bought a candles, spatulas, dish cloths, a cute little wicker basket, some clear all glass picture frame to post my black & white travel photos and a Rolling Pin! The rolling pin is my favorite....I can make pies now!

Last thing - Friday is craft night with the girls from work - can not wait to see what they have been working on lately! I'm bringing desert - which probably does not surprise anyone that knows me! Now I need to figure out what it will be...oooh - the possibilities!

I have a button!

Life is now gooooooooood! I have a BUTTON - WOOOOO HOOOOO! :-) Tee hee hee

MomaChet from Crochetville was totally awesome and created some buttons for me! I will freely acknowledge that I can not do web graphics.....the sheer thought is enough to send me into a mild panic! I asked her for help, and she responded back with three buttons within 2 hours!

So here are my new buttons....I've not decided which to use for The Land of Kimberly Blog.....tough decision!



I will work on adding these to the general layouts tomorrow...its after 2 in the morning...way paste time for bed!

UFO Crochet along

I joined a new CAL today! This one is the at Crochetville! I do not have that many UFOs...okay, I have one - I started a scarf back in December as my first project, ran out of yarn, bought some more along with the materials for my Star Afghan, started the Afghan and never sent back to the scarf. It has been languishing away on top of one of my wardrobes ever since! My goal is to finish the scarf and then do my best to avoid any further UFOs from appearing in my life!

I love the motto of Finish It or Frog It! I hope to finish the scarf...although I might frog it and restart it again......it is the very first project that I ever crocheted!

Oh!! Exciting news! The second shipment of books that I ordered from amazon.fr arrived today.....not I wish that the first set I ordered would arrive! Of the two, I am glad that it is the second set that arrived though! These three are all in English by one of my favorite authors, Christine Feehan who writes about a mythical race of people, Carpathians who have vampire-like traits, but are good and hunt and kill vampires...a very entertaining series - these last three books makes my collection of her books complete...on to the next author! The first set of books are all three of Nora Roberts "Born In" series which I read last year and loved....this set of three though have all been translated into French! I need to continue to practice my french, so why not read books that I love!

Cooking and Crocheting

I was very productive last night - I managed to crochet and cook! I made a Quiche and finished the first corner of my Star Afghan....I might actually get the thing finished this month yet! Here are pictures of both endeavors!

If my life was a song....

Well, many songs would fit my life, but tonight it is the line from that ever so awful Britney Speas song...Ooops I did it again! Here it is, almost 1:30 in the morning and I am finally deciding to call it a night...After posting to my blogs just one more time :-)

Spent the day frogging and reworking the outer border on the first corner of my Star Afghan - I think I have the problem solved - stupid pattern just was not working for me, so I've decided to work around the problems and crochet at will, following the basics.....good enough for me! So I am about half way done with the first corner - hopefully have it finished tomorrow night and then its on to the other three corner...*sigh* I'll have it finished one of these days!

I managed to get my first thread doily about half way finished and two finger potholders finished except for the weaving of the ends...I think that I have a serious problem with gauge as all of my projects tend to turn out smaller than the pattern states...hmmm...I'm probably doing something wrong, but since I am 100% self taught over the past 3 months, I am happy that I am able to do as much as I can! I've been rather ambitious with my projects so far (afghan with all of those teeny tiny squares for example)!

Okay, its time for bed and another fun week at work! I heard a rumor that there is a new Ikea that is accessable via the public transportation system here....can not wait to check it out and see if that is the case! Woo hoo!! If there is one thing that I can spend more money on than yarn, it is random kitchen gadgets (recently purchased a ton of things for cake decorating because I thought that I never know when I'll need to make a fancy cake...umm, okay) and misc household goods...honest - I really need a gargoyle to sit on my balcony that no one can see since I live on the fourth floor!

Frustrations everywhere!

Been moving offices the past two days, so I have accomplished very little - and what I have done makes me want to scream since all I seem to do is frog it lately...positive thoughts.....Positive thoughts....its the weekend! Okay, I'm happy again! I hope to make it to the yarn store again tomorrow to pick up some bits and bobs as well as to the tourist shops to pick up some small knick-knacks. Will continue to work on the afghan...hopefully done this weekend, but one never knows!

Even the Taxi drivers think I'm weird!

As is usual on Monday (and just about every other day of the week) I did not want to drag my bum out of bed this morning. so, I was of course running a wee bit behind - normal ETA for work is between 9:30 and 10, well today I could not bother messing around with the bus and tram, so I called a taxi a little after 10...oops! So there I am, sitting in the back of the taxi, crocheting another little square for my star afghan when I notice that the taxi driver is staring at me. He has this odd little "you are such a freak" look on his face.....as if hes saying "What the heck is she doing???". I ignore him and go back to the square. For the rest of the taxi ride, every time I looked up he wes looking at me in the rear view mirror with a look of incredulous disbelief.....I could only laugh at him when I got out of the taxi at work!

I think that seeing someone in Brussels under the age of 75 doing any sort of yarn/thread work is an "oddity factor". I see tons of the cute scarfs and ponchos around, but I never see anyone with a hook in their hands! Its like Crocheting is something that one does behind closed doors with all of the draperies shut. Not this crocheter I say! Let them look, stare and gawk away....I'm continuing to crochet on the tram, bus, metro, random park bench AND the back of taxi cabs!

Grandma'ghans

Looking along the side at my Upcoming Projects, you will notice that a new one has been added to the top of the list....Grandma'ghans! After turning the idea over in my head to make something for my Grandmothers, my father sugested the same thing! So, I have decided that I will make both of them an Afghan. I read about people making things for their children and grandchildren...I have neither but I do have two wonderful Grandmothers who have done so much for me in the past, that it is time that I repay them for all of their love and generosity.

ETF (estimate time of finishing) is unknown at this point as I must finish my 'ghan first. But once that is done, I will start looking for patterns and the right color yarns....I think I have it for my Dad's mum, but for my Mom's mum, I think it will be a purple and white 'ghan so off I will have to go yarn shopping again....darn!

Saturday Fun

Hi! Its Saturday night , almost 2 in the morning and I stayed in for once on a Saturday night!! I went out last night to a fare-well party for one of my military friends who is being sent to Hawaii....lucky bum! Got home this morning around 4, so today was to be a quiet restful day at home...LOL I got sucked in to the lure of visiting my LCS next door, and came out with just a few purchses - she must have seen me coming!




While on the tram to purchase some postcards to send out (RAOK coming perhaps??) I worked on putting together my first attempt at a dishcloth....liked how the yarn turned out - was really hesitant on buying it! I used Anchor Magic #1420 made by Coats (not sure if it is sold in the US)




Finally, I finished off the last of my edging on the joined Square/Wedge combination for my Star Afghan - I still need to tuck in the edges, but was too excited not to share!

63 Squares CAL

It finally arrived! I ordered the 63 Squares book a few weeks ago, and it made it to Europe - I really hate the mail over here so it is often a hit or miss on things arriving. I have a stash of lt pink and green that I decided not to use for my Star afghan which I could use, but I think that I might head down to the store tomorrow to see if any other color groups catch my eye! I am really excited about starting this project, although I am a bit nervous on finding enough time for it....I am still going on the Star Afghan and then there are the other projects that have caught my eye! *Sigh* What fun I will be having the next few weeks!

WIP.......Star Afghan (post 1)

Argh! Bang Bang Bang Bang! Yes, its just one of those days! Had a nice post all typed up about the status of my Star Aghan, and I hit submit, and of course, Blogger has gone down and I lose all of my work (including the picture I had added in!) So here goes again....

Well, I am making great progress on my Star Afghan....it is probably one of the most widely travelled WIPs that I will ever have! So far it has been with me skiing in France, to Brugges and Gent on a road trip, to Zori's house, to a monthly craft night we have in Brussels, on the tram/bus/metro, to Paris for a weekend trip and to Florida & Disney World (with a stop over in Chicago)!

I have not taken a recent picture, but here is the status when I came back from Florida - I had the middle section finished, with all of the 16 outer squares, of which only 4 were joined by a wedge. Currently, I have added all the wedges and all of the sets to the middle and am working on the next round of borders!

Ta da!! The City of Crochet

Well, my little land is starting to develop as colonization slowly begins! I am pleased to be here for the naming ceremony of the Land of Kimberly's first city....The City of Crochet! Over the next few days, weeks and months, I will be populating my city with the fruits of my hard work! Stay tuned for presentation of the City of Crochet's first inhabitant.......The Star Afghan!

Kimberly
Founder & President - The Land of Kimberly
Mayor - The City of Crochet